As schools across the state put the finishing touches on their preparations for the upcoming 2012 season, an all too familiar scenario plays itself out southwest of Houston as another member of the Matthews family gets ready to take the field as a team leader. As a part of what has become the preeminent royal family of the Texas A&M football world, the Matthews clan will see another player finish his prep career this fall as he prepares to follow another trend in the family and land in College Station. Texas A&M commit Mike Matthews will be in his third year as a starter for Fort Bend (TX) Elkins and expects big things in his final year.

"I think we have a lot of good talent," said the 6 foot 3, 260 pound Matthews who is rated as a four star prospect by Rivals.com. "We will not have as much size as we normally do but we have a lot of good athletes out there. We have a lot of fast skilled position guys but I think coach Brantley has got everything under control and we'll be alright out there. He has got us heading in the right direction and we are going to be putting points on the board."

When Matthews is not on the field he will make the increasingly familiar trip to College Station to see his future team which includes older brother Jake (a sophomore) in action.

"I'll be at a lot of their games," he said of the Aggies. "I want to see my big brother play so I'll be at a good amount of the games. Every home game that the schedule allows for."

Despite a busy schedule of his own, Matthews has kept up with the Aggies' preparations and thinks they have a chance to have a really big year.

"They look really good out there" he said late last week. "I think they are going to be a powerhouse. They have a lot of good recruits coming in there and have a lot of good players on the roster. Hopefully they come out this year and finish it off strong."

Much like anybody else that follows the Aggies, he has heard the talk of A&M's impending departure to the Southeastern Conference. While he admits that it is noteworthy, it really hasn't weighed too heavily on his mind.

"It would be exciting to play an SEC schedule," said the nations second ranked center in the 2012 class per Rivals.com. "I don't really care if I play in the Big 12 or the Southeastern Conference as long as I get that chance to play. It could be really exciting though, we'll see how it plays out."

Are there any destinations that he is looking forward to visiting?

"I don't know" he said. "I hear LSU has a nice campus so that would be one I would look forward to.

Regardless of what the future holds for Texas A&M, Matthews admits that being a part of the recruiting class that the Aggies have put together for the 2012 class is something special.

"It's a privilege to be going up there and knowing that you could be a part of this next big wave of talent coming in," he said. "We can be a part of the next starters up there and taking the school to the next level maybe the championship game."

Matthews is a two time first team all-district selection and is ranked by Rivals.com as the 31st best player in the state of Texas regardless of position. Elkins opens their season next Friday on August 26th versus Dayton at 7:00 PM.